“The University Is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture” at Garagem Sul

March 10, 2019

The exhibition “The University is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture” is produced by the CCA based on the module A305, History of Architecture and Design, 1890-1939, written and produced by The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom.

As current models of knowledge transfer are brought into question, one radical attempt at rethinking the mandate of higher education through mass media is under the lens. Taking shape as an exhibition and a book, The University ls Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture examines a key experiment by The Open University lo mobilize new media environments for distance and adult education.

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The project offers a close reading of the course A305, History of Architecture and Design 1890- 1939. This undergraduate arts course, offered by The Open University vio television and radio broadcasts between 1975 and 1982, was a radical proíect for sharing knowledge through the convergence of mass media and mass education.

First presented at the CCA in Montreal in 2017, and curated by Joachim Moreno,the exhibition, The University ls Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture will be on view in Lisbon, at the CCB­ Garagem Sul 19 February- 26 May 2019.

The related book, The university is now on air, broadcasting modern architecture, co-published by the CCA and Jap Sam Books, features eight episodes written by Joaquim Moreno, conversations with Tim Benton, Nick Levinson, Adrian Forty, Joseph Rykwert, and Stephen Bayley; and contributions by Nick Beech, Laura Carter, Ben Highmore, and Joseph Bedford.

While higher education today is facing a crisis of access and quality, MOOCs (massive open online courses) offer a way to reach wider audiences but also raise questions about who produces knowledge and who is responsible for mass education. MOOCs are part of a long lineage of attempts to mobilize new media environments for educational purposes. The exhibition The University Is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture offers a close reading of a pioneering case study: A305, History of Architecture and Design, 1890–1939. This third-year undergraduate arts course, offered by The Open University via television and radio broadcasts between 1975 and 1982, was a radical project for sharing knowledge through the convergence of mass media and mass education.

The Open University—founded in 1969 with headquarters in Milton Keynes, UK—a key experiment in distance and adult education, was part of the socially progressive reforms of the Labour Party between 1964 and 1970. Through courses such as A305, The Open University extended higher education beyond a typical class of students by using media as a tool to transform both the production and transmission of knowledge. A305 used publication, correspondence, and a complex system of local and regional centres to disseminate that knowledge across an entire country.